Isabel Farnsworth

(b. 1967 – Maryland)Isabel Farnsworth constructs works—both sculptural and on paper—that reflect her daily life and a more broadly considered “experience of the world.” Wood, wax, metal, textiles, and a variety of found objects combine to create pieces that are as much about the individual objects as they are about the relationship between forms and color. Speaking to the spontaneous nature of her building practice, she states “the pieces are not preconceived; I arrive at my assemblages through a process of responding to the composite forms and their associated meanings, as well as playing with material combinations: texture, color, line, and surface.”

In this sculpture, the artist presents a carefully designed metal armature, which serves as a kind of areligious Christmas tree for adornment. The ornaments are beautifully pigmented with a variety of ocher hues. Game pieces, sacred objects, bird forms, and other imaginative forms invite the viewer to make sense of their purpose and source.

Farnsworth received an MFA in Sculpture from Stanford University and a BFA in painting from the Tyler School of Art. Her work has been exhibited widely across the US, including at the Olin Art Gallery, Gambier, OH, the Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA, the Sculpture Center, Cleveland, OH, and Cleveland State University. In 1999, she received an Individual Artist Fellowship Grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Farnsworth is Associate Professor of Sculpture at Kent State University.

From the nominating artist:

Isabel Farnsworth has been an icon in the area since over a decade. Our fascination stems from her ease of transitioning between materials and subject matter. We had seen her work in a few local shows and always had wanted to know more about her process and materiality. Her conceptual approach is very timely and her work significant in context.